Posts tagged ‘technology’

When the writers strike happened in late 07/early 08 it was primarily a result of new media, the new phenomenon that caters to the mindset of “I want my media whenever, where ever.” Being able to watch tv shows on demand, online, outside of their scheduled time slot was a hard thing for “old media” people to understand, and they paid the price with the strike.

That’s all old news, but it relates to a shift I’ve recently noticed in my own life. With the exception of big sporting events (the US Open, NBA Finals), I’ve all but stopped watching TV. Scripted TV is almost as bad as reality TV, and the few shows that are still good enough to watch (Lost, The Office), can be watched online now.

Another TV killer has been my addiction to podcasts and having my eyes opened to revision 3 shows.

Between those and downloadable Lost and Office episodes, I really have no reason to turn on the TV, and it feels good. I’ve got a lot more time to think, read, and golf and I’m having a great summer. Moral of the story: try out some podcasts and back away from the TV, and use the extra free time for something productive.

The good news about the components of this plan is that it’s a good place to start thinking about how urban areas will be organized in the future. While algae ponds and vertical farms might be a little far-fetched, the ideas of short-term-use cars and new high-tech forms of mass transit are things that leaders should start looking at and implementing yesterday. I really love the idea of a pod car beacuse it allows people to maintain that feeling of being in control of their transportation, but it limits that use to a certain area, more specifically the area that we travel the most, which usually includes short trips to shopping, dining, nightlife, or work.

While a lot of these ideas are almost sci-fi in nature, there are many things here that are great for the urban area of today. Car pods (lol, a boy can hope), rainwater collection, wide use of solar energy, and focused and efficient mass transit are all things all cities (large and small) should be looking at right now.

This article from Business Week is surely one of the most disgusting displays of why governments from the local level to the federal level all need to get their act together.

I have little doubt that the age-old bureaucracy problem is in play here, especially when I read this:

Clarkson, who works for the state Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet, said she believes she was working the switchboard at the cabinet offices on April 1. She said the employee who works in the mailroom left early that day, and the FedEx agent required a signature for the package. She said 14 Reilly Road, the Frankfort address where the cabinet offices are located, is a five-building complex; the waste management division is located in another of the five buildings.

It’s actually kind of sad to hear that something as simple as signing for a package and getting it to where it needs to go can’t be successfully completed in our state government, especially in the year 2008.

While it would be obvious to say that these people need to be fired for being so incompetent, it might also be good to say that there are some solutions to this problem. FedEx could stand to make a little money on this type of situation by creating some sort of Twitter-like program that can alert the proper recipient of a package as well as the sender of a package upon delivery. This could all easily be stored electronically on a package label and would word via the web and the established tracking system already in place.

So imagine if this document containing the proposal for grant money had been delivered to the Department of Waste Management instead of the proper Department of Environmental Safety (I know, not so hard to imagine) and FedEx had this program. Ms. Clarkson would have been sent a “tweet” either on her desktop or on her mobile phone/pda/pager, and would have known what it was and who it was intended for (her). Problem solved, they can thank me when they make millions.